Magda Schneider

German singer and actress Magda Schneider (1909-1996) is best known as the mother of film star Romy Schneider, but in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, she herself starred in some 40 films. First she appeared on the screen as a charming Wiener mädel (girl from Vienna) and after the war she often played the understanding mother or aunt.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6561/1, 1931-1932. Photo: Atelier Schneider, Berlin.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6817/1, 1931-1932. Photo: Studio Lenné, Berlin.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 7099/1, 1932-1933. Photo: Atelier Casparius, Berlin.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 7099/2, 1932-1933. Photo: Atelier Casparius, Berlin.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 7415/1, 1932-1933. Photo: IF. Publicity still for Marion, das gehört sich nicht/Marion, That's Not Nice (E.W. Emo, 1933) with Otto Wallburg.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 7930/1, 1932-1933. Photo: Atelier Binder, Berlin.

Soubrette

Magdalena Schneider was born in 1909 in Augsburg, Germany. She was the daughter of a plumber, Xaverius Schneider and his wife Maria Meier-Hörmann.

After visiting a Catholic girl’s school Magda studied stenography and office management at a business school and worked as a steno typist for a grain merchant. In her leisure time she studied singing at the Leopold-Mozart-Konservatorium Augsburg and followed ballet classes at the Stadtheater of her native town.

As a soubrette she made her debut in the operetta Die Fledermaus (The Bat) and played several parts in comedies in the Stadttheater of Augsburg and later also in the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in München (Munich). There she was discovered by director Ernst Marischka, who invited her to work for the Theater an der Wien.

In 1930 she made her first film appearance in Boykott/Boycott (Robert Land, 1930) with Lil Dagover. Two years later she launched her film career after a film test at the Ufa studio.

She could be seen singing and dancing in such films as Zwei in einem Auto/Two in a Car (Joe May, 1932) with Kurt Gerron, Das Testament des Cornelius Gulden/The Testament of Cornelius Gulden (E.W. Emo, 1932) with Georg Alexander and Theo Lingen, Das Lied einer Nacht/Tell Me Tonight (Anatole Litvak, 1932) at the side of the star tenor Jan Kiepura, and eventually the poetic masterpiece Liebelei/Flirtation (Max Ophüls, 1933) co-starring Paul Hörbiger.

Liebelei, based on a play by Arthur Schnitzler, was one of her best films in which she could unfold her whole acting talent. 25 years later, her role in Liebelei was played by her daughter, Romy Schneider, in the film Christine (Pierre Gaspard-Huit, 1958).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 146/1. Photo: Cine-Allianz-Film der Ufa. Publicity still of Fritz Schulz and Magda Schneider in Das Lied einer Nacht/The Song of Night (Anatole Litvak, 1932).


Dutch postcard by JosPe, no. 441. Sent by mail in 1933. Photo: City Film.


Dutch postcard by JosPe, no. 397. Photo: City Film. Publicity still for Ein bißchen Liebe für Dich/A Bit of Love (Max Neufeld, 1932) with Georg Alexander.


Dutch Postcard for Glück über Nacht/Happiness Over Night (Max Neufeld, 1932) with Hermann Thimig. Photo: City-Film. Notice the modern furniture & set design.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 8843/1, 1934-1935. Photo: Badal Filmproduktion. Publicity still for Fräulein Liselott/Miss Liselott (Johannes Guter, 1934) with Albert Lieven.


British postcard. Photo: publicity still for Ich Kenn Dich Nicht Und Liebe Dich/I Don't Know You, But I Love You (Géza von Bolváry, 1934) with Willi Forst.

Wolf Albach-Retty

During the production of the film Kind, ich freu mich auf dein Kommen/Child, I please me about your arrival (Kurt Gerron, 1933), Magda Schneider met her first husband, actor Wolf Albach-Retty.

They appeared in eight films together, including G'schichten aus dem Wienerwald/Tales from Vienna Woods (Georg Jacoby, 1934), and Rendezvous in Wien/Rendezvous in Vienna (Victor Janson, 1936).

The couple married in 1937 and would have two children, Rosemarie Magdalena, called Romy (1938-1982), and Wolfgang Dieter (1941), later a surgeon. The couple divorced in 1945 (some sources say 1946, others 1949).

Other films in which Magda appeared during the 1930s and 1940s were Eva (Johannes Riemann, 1935) with Heinz Rühmann, Frauenliebe – Frauenleid/Woman’s Love – Woman’s Sorrow (Augusto Genina, 1937) with Iván Petrovich, and Liebeskomödie/Love’s Comedy (Theo Lingen, 1942).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. A 1597/1, 1937-1938. Photo: Sandau, Berlin. With Wolf Albach-Retty.


German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3640/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Baumann / Ufa.


German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3826/1, 1941-1944. Photo: Hämmerer / Wien Film. From Tatiana.


German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. A 3826/2, 1941-1944. Photo: Wesel / Berlin-Film.


German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. W 88. Photo: Berlin Film / Wesel.


German postcard by Film-Foto-Verlag, no. G 151, 1941-1944. Photo: Wesel / Berlin-Film.

Ambitious Mother

After the Second World War, Magda Schneider found that film offers were scarce, and she mainly appeared in guest roles on stage.

The first post-war film in which she was seen was <1>Ein Mann gehört ins Haus/A man belongs in the house (Hubert Marischka, 1948), that was already filmed in 1945.

In the 1950s, she got more film offers, but she decided to focus herself on the film career of her daughter Romy Schneider. Mother and daughter appeared together in Romy's film debut Wenn der weiße Flieder wieder blüht/When the White Lilacs Bloom Again (Hans Deppe, 1953), Mädchenjahre einer Königin/The Story of Vickie (Ernst Marischka, 1954), Die Deutschmeister/A March for the Emperor (Ernst Marischka, 1955), Robinson soll nicht sterben/The Legend of Robinson Crusoe (Josef von Báky, 1956), and Die Halbzarte/Eva (Rolf Thiele, 1958).

Best known of course is the Sissi Trilogy (Ernst Marischka, 1955-1957), based on the life of Elisabeth of Bavaria. Romy Schneider starred in the title role and Magda Schneider played the role of her mother, Princess Ludovika of Bavaria.

In 1953 Magda married Hans Herbert Blatzheim, a Cologne restaurant owner, who died in 1968. Her last appearance for the cameras was in the TV series Drei Frauen im Haus/Three Women in the House (1968) and the sequel Vier Frauen im Haus/Four Women in the House (1969).

In 1982, Magda married cinematographer Horst Fehlhaber. That same year she was awarded the Filmband in Gold. In the last years of her life Magda Schneider had to bear the tragic deaths of her grandson David in 1981 and of her daughter Romy in 1982.

Magda Schneider passed away in 1996 in Berchtesgaden, Germany. She was 87.


Lithuanian postcard by Izd. IRA, Riga.


Dutch postcard. Photo: Melior. Sent by mail in 1957. Photo: publicity still for Wenn der weiße Flieder wieder blüht/When the White Lilacs Bloom Again (Hans Deppe, 1953) with Romy Schneider.


Dutch postcard by Takken, no. 3092. Photo: Filmex NV. Publicity still for Sissi - Die junge Kaiserin/Sissi: The Young Empress (Ernst Marischka, 1956) with Romy Schneider.


Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg. Photo: Ufa/Film-Foto. The photo was made during the shooting of Sissi - Schicksalsjahre einer Kaiserin/Sissi: The Fateful Years of an Empress (Ernst Marischka, 1957) with Romy Schneider.


Final scene of Liebelei (Max Ophüls, 1933). Source: BD130.


German trailer for Sissi - Die junge Kaiserin (Ernst Marischka, 1956). Source: UweundPiaFan (YouTube).

Sources: Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Stephanie D'heil (Steffi-Line - German), Wikipedia, Filmportal.de (German), Fippi2000 (IMDb) and IMDb.

Otto Wallburg

Otto Wallburg (1889 - 1944) was a popular actor of the Weimar cinema, who appeared in supporting roles as the overweight comedian. After the rise of the Nazis the Jewish actor had to go in exile, first in Austria and later in the Netherlands. He was murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz concentration camp.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6118/1, 1931-1932. Photo: Ufa.

The Funny Fat Guy
Otto Wallburg was born as Otto Maximilian Wasserzug in Berlin in 1889. He was the son of a Jewish banker. Otto stdied at the school of Max Reinhardt’s famous Deutsches Theater when he was 20 years old. He started his career in Switzerland at the theater of Bern in 1911. He then took as his stage name: Otto Wallburg. Two years later, he played in Frankfurt am Main. When the First World War broke out, he enlisted in the army. Wounded in 1917, he left decorated with the famous Iron Cross and resumed his acting career in Frankfurt. At the beginning of his career he was employed as the youthful hero, but when after World War I he had put on weight. He thought his acting career was finished, and turned to stage direction. But his fears were unfounded. Soon he developed a comical talent and he was cast as the funny fat guy. In 1926 he was contracted by Max Reinhardt. That same year Wallburg appeared for the first time in a film, Die keusche Susanne/The Innocent Susanne (1926, Richard Eichberg) with Willy Fritsch and Lilian Harvey. He established himself as a poignant character actor in a wide variety of genre films – ranging from the comedy Der Himmel auf Erden/Heaven on Earth (1927, Alfred Schirokauer, Reinhold Schünzel) starring Charlotte Ander, to the crime caper Der rote Kreis/The Crimson Circle (1928, Frederic Zelnik) with Lya Mara. He appeared with nearly all the stars of those days - normally in supporting roles in films like Grand Hotel (1927, Johannes Guter) starring Mady Christians and Werner Fuetterer, Mein Freund Harry/My Friend Harry (1928, Max Obal, Rudolf Walther-Fein) with Harry Liedtke, Die Nacht gehört uns/The Night Belongs to Us (1929, Carl Froelich, Henry Roussel) with Hans Albers, and Kolonne X/Column X (1929, Reinhold Schünzel).


Dutch postcard, no. 681. Photo: Ufa.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 131/3. Photo: Ufa. Still from Der Kongress Tanzt/The Congress Dances (1931).

Der Blubberer
Otto Wallburg’s masterful play with dialects and his physical presence made him the ideal sound film comic. Because of his speech he was affectionately called ‘Der Blubberer’. His first sound film was the comedy Hokuspokus/Hocuspocus (1930, Gustav Ucicky) with Willy Fritsch and Lilian Harvey. Bigger roles followed in the films Wer nimmt die Liebe ernst?/Who takes Love Seriously? (1931, Erich Engel) with Jenny Jugo, Der Kongreß tanzt/The Congress Dances (1931) as the adjudant of the Russian czar (Willy Fritsch) who comes to Vienna in 1814, Der Hochtourist/The High Tourist (1931, Alfred Zeisler), and Kind, ich freu’ mich auf Dein Kommen/Kid, I’m Waiting For You (1933, Kurt Gerron) with Magda Schneider and Wolf Albach-Retty. Especially Reinhold Schünzel frequently cast Wallburg in musical comedies like Ronny (1931) with Käthe von Nagy, the romance Das schöne Abenteuer/The Beautiful Adventure (1932) with Alfred Abel and Ida Wüst, and the comedy Wie sag' ich's meinem Mann?/How To Tell It to My Husband (1932) with Georg Alexander and Renate Müller.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6692/1, 1931-1932. Photo: Otto Kurt Vogelsang, Berlin.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 7415/1, 1932-1933. Photo: IF. Still from Marion, das gehört sich nicht/Marion, That's Not Nice (1933, E.W. Emo).

In Exil
Otto Wallburg had a very hard time during the Nazi period. The Nazis refused his application for the Reichskulturkammer, he lost his Ufa contract and also his stage engagement. Thanks to his bravery at the front during the First World War, he still managed to find work, but in 1934 he emigrated with his family to Vienna. There he found work at Joe Pasternak's Universal Production. He appeared in films like Peter (1935, Hermann Kosterlitz aka Henry Koster) and Kleine Mutti/A Bundle of Joy (1935, Hermann Kosterlitz aka Henry Koster), both with Franciska Gaál. He also appeared in Bretter, die die Welt bedeuten/The Stage is the World (1935, Kurt Gerron) with Szöke Szakáll. In Hungary he played in the musical Ball im Savoy/Ball at the Savoy (1935, Steve Sekely) with Gitta Alpár. These films were not allowed to be shown in Germany. After the Anschluss in 1938 (the Nazis annexated Austria), Wallburg had to emigrate again and he moved along France (where he appeared in his last film, Carrefour/Crossroads (1938, Kurt (later Curtis) Bernhardt) with Charles Vanel) to the Netherlands. The Nazis withdrew his German nationality in a public announcement. In Amsterdam he worked with Kurt Gerron and Rudolf Nelson at the Joodsche Schouwburg (the Jewish theater) and appeared in a Jewish cabaret. The security which Wallburg found in the Netherlands didn't last. In May 1940 the German Wehrmacht marched into the Netherlands. Wallburg, without official papers could not escape and had to hide. A difficult life in the underground began for Wallburg. He and his wife Ilse Rein could avoid an arrest wave in 1943, but they fell victim on a tip and were arrested early in 1944. An eight-month lasting period of suffering began. The diabetic and terribly emaciated Otto Wallburg was brought into camp Westerbork, and afterwards he was deported via concentration camp Theresienstadt to KZ Auschwitz in Poland. There he was killed in the gas chamber at the end of 1944, like millions of others. A tragic end. He was only 55. Otto Wallburg was married at least three times, to actress Lina Brosso (with whom he had a son Reinhard), to Anna Luise Theis (with whom he had two daughters) and with Ilse Rein, with whom he lived in exil in the Netherlands.


Tribute to Otto Wallburg by his grandson Francois. Source: Marsacois1 (YouTube).

Sources: Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Philippe Pelletier (CinéArtistes) (French), Wikipedia (German), and IMDb.